Vancouver moves to slow down demolition of character homes (updated)

Applications for demolition on the west side up about 20 per cent over previous years

The Walkem House at 3990 Marguerite in the First Shaughnessy neighbourhood is a heritage house under threat of demolition. It’s owners have now put it up for sale.

Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann
, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - For two years the owners of Walkem House in First Shaughnessey have sought to demolish the British Arts and Crafts heritage home in the hopes of building a modern new home for an extended family they want to bring to Canada.

But the home, with its distinctive detached carriage house and a rich history connected to one of Vancouver's prominent early businessmen and politicians, has become the poster child for a backlash over Vancouver's disappearing heritage homes, and is the first building likely to be saved — at least for now — under a planned one-year moratorium on demolition. It was built in 1913-14 for George Alexander Walkem, an industrialist, mayor and Conservative MLA.

Heritage Vancouver listed Walkem House and other early homes in First Shaughnessy as one of the 10-most endangered heritage areas in the city, raising alarms over an unusual spike in demolitions due to a rising economy and old discretionary density rules that allow for even bigger buildings to be built.

Over the last 30 years, 47 heritage buildings in First Shaughnessey have fallen to the wrecker's ball, an average of about 1.5 houses a year. But in the last 18 months alone, city planning staff have received 16 inquires about demolishing character homes in the neighbourhood.

The stately home at 3990 Marguerite was subject last year to a rare council-issued temporary protective order after the owners applied for development and demolition permits even though the First Shaughnessy Advisory Design Panel opposed the plan. The order has now expired, but city staff are sitting on the applications because city council on Wednesday is expected to adopt wide-ranging changes that would act as disincentives for people to tear down pre-1940s character homes.

Planning director Brian Jackson said the First Shaughnessy Overall Development Plan is so out of whack that it has opened the doors to wholesale demolition of some of the city's finest early homes.

"Something has changed in First Shaughnessy in the last few years. The protections we had in place in terms of the ODP are proving not to be enough for preserving the character of this extraordinary asset to the city of Vancouver," he said.

It isn't just Shaughnessy houses that are under attack. The problem affects neighbourhoods, almost exclusively on the west side, where old discretionary zoning and density rules are encouraging developers to raze smaller homes to build massive buildings.

In the first six months of 2014 there have been nearly 1,000 applications for demolition permits, an increase of 20 per cent over previous years, Jackson said. Many of those involve pre-1940s buildings that don't use all of their allowed yard setbacks or building heights.

Jackson's department has now proposed reining in the discretionary density allowance that is fuelling the problem, and tying it directly to whether buildings have identified characteristics the city wants to preserve. It also will change the way demolitions will be permitted, requiring up to 90 per cent of materials to be salvaged or recycled.

Jackson said the new recycling rules would add about $5,000 to the cost of a $15,000 demolition bill. That may not seem like much, he said, but every small signal from the city adds up to a major message that it wants to preserve worthy buildings as much as possible, he said.

Earlier this year, after two years of being stalled, the owners of Walkem House put the house up for sale for nearly $7 million. Land title and B.C. Assessment Authority records indicate it is owned by Zhiqiang Wu and Binxia Cao, who bought it in December, 2011 for $4.6 million. Rena Liang, a realtor acting as the agent of record, said Tuesday her clients are out of Canada and not available for comment. But they dispute that the building has any heritage value and want to replace it with a larger home for an extended family overseas in China.

"They just think the building is not livable," Liang said. "They are now looking for a larger property."

The property is being marketed as having six rental suites and a place to "build your dream home in Shaughnessy."

Heritage expert Donald Luxton, who wrote a letter to city council last year as president of Heritage Vancouver urging intervention, said the city's message is now clear.

"The city is clearly saying enough is enough. It is pretty clear to the owners of 3990 Marguerite that the city doesn't want this home torn down."

Other assessment criteria: underutilized site and/or structurally unsound. In these cases, a pre-1940 house may be considered for deconstruction.

NOTE: This applies only to neighbourhoods around First Shaughnessy, Kerridale, Arbutus Ridge, MacKenzie Heights, Dunbar and some parts of Kitsilano that have old discretionary density and zoning rules that allow subjectively for increased density under certain conditions. Other areas of the city that only have “outright” or non-discretionary zoning are excluded.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.